Two Years
by amber-chick
Summary: Contrary to popular belief, his two year timespan in each city was the product of chance, not his own planning. A look at why Tony has only ever stayed in each city two years prior to NCIS - and why he didn't leave the agency.


_One of the things that most interests me about Tony is the fact that he has only ever stayed two years at all his previous law enforcement jobs. So I decided to try to work out why. Hope you enjoy and let me know what you thought, as always! Also just a note, there may be another multi-chapter coming soon ;)_

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"_That was… remind me, two years, right?"_

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Contrary to what everyone always thought, his consistent two year timespan at each job was actually by default, rather then design.

It had started with Peoria, his first job as a cop, fresh out of the police academy. Peoria PD didn't take new recruits in batches, and so he spent a few months being the only rookie.

As a consequence, he was moved around a lot, partnered with the older, more experienced cops on cases, and spending a hell of a lot of freezing nights being on drunk driving duty, continuously telling people to breathe into the breathalyzer machine.

He supposed he was lucky that he never got some of the few that swore at you for pulling you over. But he still found it sad that his idea of an exciting night was when somebody was over the limit and he got to write a fine, or take them into custody, depending on the severity.

After over a year of transit detail, securing crime scenes, and breaking up fights, he finally got a new assignment.

Suicides.

He had kicked himself for being so ungrateful before. Being called in at one in the morning to try and talk someone off a bridge was not only not his idea of fun, it brought back many bad memories that he had tried to suppress. His mother, his roommate in college (after that incident he had tightened his budget and paid the extra for a single room… in later years, none of his newer friends could understand why.)

He had requested several times to switch areas, but months passed and it never happened. He had somehow managed to talk all of the suicidal people he got (most of them little more then kids) from committing the actual act, or at least managed to distract them for long enough so he could tackle them away. His captain had given him several commendations for it, and there was even talk of giving him a medal.

Then, one of them he couldn't talk off. Twenty-two year old Liza Hart – he had never forgotten her name. She had had her whole life ahead of her, but because of her scum of a boyfriend, she had instead decided to end it all, and nothing he said stopped her from making the leap.

He could remember the way she looked, spread-eagled on the concrete below. He had written out his resignation that very day.

He had actually considered going to NYPD next, but in the end he decided that it was a little too close to home. While he and his father definitely didn't have the best of relationships (heck, they didn't even talk) he still didn't want to take the possibility of having to investigate him. Because he was no idiot, he knew that his father didn't completely follow the law. At the very least, he evaded his taxes, and probably several other misdemeanours.

But either way, that firmly closed the idea of moving to the New York Police Department.

Instead, he ended up in Philly PD. He immediately preferred it over Peoria, mainly because he wasn't considered the rookie anymore. He started to get more serious cases; drug busts, robberies, and even some occasional homicides.

Several months in, he had finished a particularly difficult case; that of a father throwing his four year old daughter over a bridge. It was the youngest dead person that he'd seen, and he'd decided to go clubbing as a way to forget. It was his own personal philosophy, 'when the going gets tough, the tough go clubbing."

That was when he had met Katya, a beautiful, vivacious young woman. They had hit it off, and quickly became friends. Soon enough, that turned into 'friends with benefits'. Neither of them were looking for anything serious, and so their relationship went well for the next year or so.

But then his partner showed him some pictures during a quiet, slow day at the precinct. And that was when he realized that Katya was the captain's only daughter.

He had immediately given his notice, refusing to give a reason. Even now, if someone asked him why he left Philly, he told them 'extenuating circumstances' and left it at that. That was also the time that he had started to think that maybe he was cursed, doomed to never stay in one place longer then two years. Although, that thought might have been inspired by the excessive amount of alcohol.

That time, he had applied at several PD's around the country, but many were hesitant to hire a cop that had already moved twice in his short career.

But in the end, Baltimore PD accepted him, and again he found himself climbing the ranks. Now he really only dealt with homicides, drugs, gangs… Baltimore was also the first place where he discovered his passion for undercover work.

He had busted several major criminal operations, and had also made some firm friends. By that time, he was accepted as an equal, rather then a rookie. He wondered if perhaps Baltimore PD was the one, where he'd stay until he was either shot down or retired.

The only problem were his supervisors; both men who cared far more for the money and glory that came from being a Law Enforcement Official then actually helping people.

All too soon, he began to get into some serious fights with his captain, and in the back of his mind, he began to wonder which PD he would join next. This time, it took less alcohol before he started to think that he was cursed to only be able to stay in one place for two years.

Things came to a blow when Captain Donnelly gave up their case, which he had been working for months, to the feds. In the end, he had managed to trick Special Agent Gibbs into a joint op, but he knew he would pay for it later. But he didn't particularly care, since they had managed to catch that serial killer and had given closure to several families.

So he wasn't particularly upset when he sat down at his desk after signing himself out of hospital, preparing to write his resignation.

What he hadn't expected was for Special Agent Gibbs to come waltzing back into the precinct and offering him a job.

And just like that, he had gone from cop to fed, switching his gold star for a gold eagle.

Within a year, he'd gotten promoted to senior field agent, and half the time he ended up working crime scenes alone with Gibbs, due to the constant transfers in and out of the team. He had become best friends with Abby, and firm friends with Ducky. He even had a good relationship with Gibbs.

For the first time since way back in Peoria, he actually started to feel comfortable enough to settle down.

And then came Special Agent Caitlin Todd. He liked her, he really did. She was a good agent, but she didn't have the same experience that he had. Despite that, however, he knew that she looked down on him in some way, perhaps not even consciously.

The condescending barbs were really starting to get on his nerves, but it was worse when she'd get Abby and Gibbs to join in. Again, he now felt that all too familiar feeling of having to let go.

He almost laughed when he realized that it had been two years.

But then on the day that did mark two years, Abby and Ducky had been so nice and made such a huge deal of it that he felt himself softening and feeling anchored again. Even Gibbs had shown up at his door with whiskey and Chinese.

It was when Gibbs agreed to watch a James Bond movie marathon with him, despite the fact that the older agent had never bothered to hide his distaste for it, that he realized that Gibbs cared about him, as a person.

Gibbs had been the one to take him on, not because he had been the best of a group of applicants, but because he actually wanted _him. _Gibbs had been the one to bother to check up on him whenever he had a cold, who practically force fed him his meds when he didn't take them.

As they settled in together with 'From Russia with Love', his all time favourite James Bond movie, stealing each others food and even joking around together, Tony could have sworn he felt his so-called 'curse' disintegrate.

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_Hope you liked it, please review and let me know your thoughts :)_


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